FILM 120: Introduction to Film Studies
Description: Since its invention at the beginning of the twentieth century, cinema as a popular art form has assumed a prominent place in our everyday lives. While serving as entertainment, it has also informed and transformed us culturally. Its continued popularity and relevance in the new millennium can be attributed to the way the cinematic form has morphed with the times: high-definition digital quality, online streaming technology, Blu-Ray, Netflix, and films on the Internet. Because of cinema’s historical importance and contemporary ubiquity, this course seeks to help students come to a more complex understanding of the medium and its significance, by moving students beyond the casual viewing of film as entertainment (which is important in its own right) to the adoption of an analytical and critical approach to cinema. This course equips students with the fundamental vocabulary of film art, while also introducing them to the vast histories and discourses of filmic analysis and criticism. Throughout the semester, we will encounter instances of classic and contemporary films from American and world cinema as a means of illustrating the theoretical concepts in film studies. Films we will watch in this course include The Darjeeling Limited, In the Mood for Love, Citizen Kane, Moulin Rouge, Lone Star, Oklahoma!, Persepolis, and Annie Hall.
Contact:
For more information about this course, contact Kenneth Chan